Rising Darkness Read online

  In a superhuman burst of speed, Samson easily caught and passed the Philistine tax caravan, staying off the road so they could not see him. When he had gained a few hundred yards ahead of them, he awaited their turn around a small hill, standing in the middle of the road. Dheer remained alert to the situation, watching for any sign of the enemy, and curious as to the behavior of this very different man.

  The lead chariot turned the corner and faced Samson. The horse stopped as if under instruction, refusing to go around Samson. Not able to see that Dheer was holding the horse back, the Philistine soldier picked up his whip.

  “You there, get out of the way,” he hollered.

  Samson remained fixed, arms crossed and refusing to move.

  “You heard me!” he said. As the other soldiers pulled up beside him, the one holding the whip looked at Samson completely confused.

  “We just passed you on the road,” he said. “What sort of sorcery is this?”

  “The kind that needs a good whipping to discourage it,” said one of the other soldiers, climbing out of the chariot. The rest of the caravan had by now caught up and was wondering what the disturbance was all about.

  “Move, little man,” said the Philistine, who stood in front of Samson. “We are on official business.”

  Samson looked at the fat collectors in their canopied seats.

  “I’ll move after you pay the tax,” Samson said.

  “What?” said the soldier, who was scarred above his right eye. He looked with amazement at the others in his group.

  “What tax is that, Danite?” asked one of the tax collectors.

  “Why, the taxes that I am charging for you to use this road,” Samson said casually. “Now because you did not know about the tax, I will take only half of what you have taken from my people.”

  The Philistines began laughing. Dheer took his place next to Samson. He could sense the Spirit of God at work and wondered what Samson might do. He then looked up and saw Shawa for the first time, standing next to the soldier in the lead chariot.

  “Well, well,” said Shawa. “Heaven must be depleted these days. We must be doing better in this war than I thought!”

  Dheer remained silent, fixing his gaze upon Shawa and readying himself for combat should it come to it. Shawa suddenly appeared next to the soldier who was now standing toe to toe with Samson. He began to speak into this soldier’s mind, enflaming him with a hot anger.

  “I said, ‘Move,’ ” the soldier demanded, almost growling.

  “Now you’ve done it,” said Samson. “Now I shall have to take all the money you collected.”

  “Collect this, Danite!” said the soldier, raising his whip.

  Samson grabbed the man’s arm and broke it like a twig. The man yelped in pain and doubled over on the road. Shawa cursed and began enflaming the other men, who climbed out of their chariots with swords drawn.

  “We’ll teach you to attack a Philistine!” snarled one of the soldiers.

  He lunged at Samson with his sword. Samson jumped out of the way, grabbed the man’s sword hand, and squeezed hard. A loud snap told the story as the man’s hand crumbled. Samson then picked up the whip that had been dropped by the first Philistine.

  When the remaining two soldiers charged at him, he lashed them both across the face with the whip. They dropped to the ground in pain. The tax collectors began tossing out bags of coins, begging Samson to take the money and pleading that he not hurt them. Samson picked up the bags and tossed them into one of the chariots.

  “Thank you for being so cooperative,” he said, jumping into the chariot.

  He then whipped the horse and sped off down the road, leaving the Philistines bruised and bewildered.

  “Who was that?” asked one of the soldiers, bleeding from his face where the whip had cut into his cheek.

  “That was Samson, the Danite,” said one of the tax collectors, wiping the sweat from his face. “I have seen him in Timnah from time to time. He fancies a Philistine girl there.”

  “He is a devil,” said the soldier with the broken hand, which he was now binding up with a piece of cloth. “And he shall die for this!”

  “Yes, my friend,” said another. “Not now, though. Next time…in Timnah!”

  Shawa looked hatefully at Dheer, who had remained behind to make sure that Shawa maintained his distance. Shawa smirked at his one-time friend. The battle would have to be left unfinished. But that was just as well.

  For now Shawa had the information that Kara had been waiting for all of Samson’s life—proof that this long-haired Nazarite was in fact the deliverer and that the time for real war had come! Kara should be pleased. Shawa called out to Dheer in a rage as he vanished, “Just as the humans said, angel! Next time…in Timnah!”

  CHAPTER 6

  “Out of the eater came something to eat.”

  “Samson’s father refuses to let him see this woman in Timnah,” said Shawa. “They had quite an argument over it.” He snickered. “I think he wants to marry the girl!”

  Lucifer nodded in quiet contemplation. The Council of Seven had come together at Lucifer’s order to sort out the coming conflict with Samson and his people. Though Lucifer had organized these critical leaders globally, and each was prince over large portions of the world, Israel represented a common threat that bound all of them together.

  New at Council were Berenius, who had been Kara’s willing assistant in the matter of Cain, and Tinius, whose recent profane acts in Canaan had earned him greater respect among Lucifer’s inner circle. The prince of demons had requested their presence in accord with an important announcement he wanted to make.

  “Before we discuss how to deal with Samson any further, I wish to announce my intentions to create a new governing body,” Lucifer said.

  A few angels squirmed uncomfortably at what that might mean for them personally. Berenius and Tinius stood at attention, waiting for Lucifer’s declaration. He called them up and they stood next to him, on his left.

  “I have created a new council that will be completely absorbed with our dealing in Canaan,” he began. “Principalities and power work only insofar as they are efficiently administered. Brothers, since the days of Eden we have devastated the Lord’s plan for humans. We have perverted their faith; we have polluted their minds; we have stolen their hearts. Everywhere on this planet where men live, we hold authority by fear and by fakery. From jungle tribes to the great cities in the East, we have created an earth dominated by men who believe in gods that we have made, laws that we have written, and passions that we have inflamed.

  “Our legions have maintained a hold on the greatest civilizations that humans have engineered, from the Nile to the land between the two rivers, to the great Indus valley and on to the Yangtze of the Orient. Everywhere, men bow to images and creatures and ideas that are foreign to their Creator! Everywhere, we have great success!”

  He picked up an image of a Canaanite deity and smashed it on the ground. “Except here…in Canaan. Only in Canaan do we have any real opposition—and any real threat. Only here is there any real resistance.”

  “Israel is too dangerous to leave alone,” Lucifer continued. “As certain as Samson is the delivering judge, the Seed will one day spring from these people. That is why I have decided to form a Supreme Council—the Council of Liberation—to be attended by Kara, Pellecus, and Rugio. These three shall be my greatest resource in this war against the pretenders to Heaven.”

  Kara, who of course knew that this announcement should be made, looked around to see the responses in the room. If he was looking for great displays of enthusiasm, he was disappointed. Capable as he was in many things, Kara was deemed unreliable in critical situations, and his vanity was insufferable. But his ability to gather intelligence and interpret and disseminate it was uncanny, and therefore very useful to Lucifer. Pellecus and Rugio nodded to one or two of their closest aides, who acknowledged their promotion with a nod in return.

  “And so it shall be that
Berenius will become prince over Egypt and Arabia in place of Kara, while Tinius shall take from Pellecus the matter of the eastern coastal lands of the Great Sea, the Greek and Macedonian worlds. Rugio will remain prince over Persia and the lands around until a capable replacement is appointed.”

  The group spent a few moments congratulating each other, stifling the undercurrent of rivalry and infighting that had plagued Lucifer’s Council since they had vacated Heaven. After a moment of sizing up this new arrangement, they came back to order. Lucifer encouraged their efforts in their particular domains, then promptly dismissed the Council of Seven. After they had left he turned to the newly formed Council of Liberation comprised of himself, Kara, Pellecus, and Rugio.

  “And now as to Samson…” Lucifer began.

  “And now as to Samson,” said Dheer.

  Just outside the Academy of the Host in a garden built around a pristine pool, Michael, Serus, and Crispin had gathered to talk about Dheer’s progress with Samson. Around them in groups of threes and fours, other angels were discussing their own earthly assignments.

  Some spoke of encounters with mischievous devils; others told of saving this or that human from dangerous situations; and from time to time, an angel would proudly speak of having encountered Kara or some other higher-ranked enemy angel. That, it seemed, was many a warrior’s dream: to give a good, sound thrashing to Kara or Rugio, whose reputations for obnoxious behavior and proud boasting had become legend in Heaven.

  “Listen to them,” Michael said, grinning. “I only wonder what they would do if they encountered one of those angels!”

  “I’m sure they would find that Rugio is a bit more of a handful than they counted on,” observed Crispin. “Still the Host is at war and organized marvelously, Michael.”

  “Thank you, teacher,” said Michael. As commander of the Lord’s Host, Michael had engineered the defensive coordination on behalf of the Kingdom. Though the people of God were generally under Heaven’s watchful eye, the hope that the Coming One should emerge soon kept them vigilant. Only the Most High knew when, where, and through whom the Seed of Eve would finally be born. Both the Host of Heaven and Lucifer’s angels knew that victory or defeat hung in the balance, and nobody could ever be certain when the prophecy would be fulfilled.

  It was evident from Dheer’s report that Samson had begun to walk in his authority as judge of Israel. Michael was amused at the encounter with the tax collectors that had been his first show of authority. And yet there were rumblings about Samson’s rather reckless passion for Philistine women and his smug pride in his newly discovered strength.

  “All men are susceptible to pride,” warned Crispin, as the group of angels continued their discussion. “Pride is the root of all sin—and it is born in the hearts of men. Even those called of the Lord, like Samson.”

  “It is worse than that, dear Crispin,” said Dheer. “His parents are entirely opposed to this marriage with a Philistine. Yet he persists!”

  “These people will never change!” said Serus in disgust. “The Most High has repeatedly delivered them from their prideful folly—yet they continue to offend Him.”

  “And so they shall continue to do so, I fear,” said Crispin. “Since Eden man’s heart has been forever corrupted. He has lost his innocence and taken on the yoke of pride. He will never be able to shake it—at least not on his own.”

  Michael looked at Dheer and commended him for his service to the Most High in watching over Samson. He placed his hand on the angel’s shoulder.

  “Go back to Samson,” Michael said. “Continue watching. You are learning what it means for us angels to not interfere with the will of men—no matter how much we would like to.”

  “Remember Eden?” asked Crispin. “Michael could barely contain himself from stepping between Eve and the serpent. And yet he could not violate Eve’s decision.”

  “Not even the Lord will violate a human’s choice to reject Him,” said Michael.

  “Then I’ll return to Samson,” said Dheer. “He is even now headed to Timnah to marry the Philistine woman, but perhaps along the road something will happen to change his mind.”

  “Yes,” reasoned Crispin. “Perhaps something will happen on the road to Timnah.”

  Samson’s mother followed along a few paces behind her husband and son as they made their way to Timnah. She was saddened in her heart that he liked the company of a Philistine woman, but she no longer wanted to contend with her son. She and her husband had tried reasoning with him to the point of outright arguments, but nothing could deter Samson from his intention to see this Philistine woman. Samson’s father, however, still would have none of it, and continued the discussion vigorously, even as they neared Timnah.

  “Can you find no woman among our own people?” he pleaded. “This is an offense to our people…to our God! He will never bless such a thing!”

  On and on he went. Samson remained silent, long numb to his father’s opinion. He kept his eyes straight on the road, resolute in his decision. And then, kicking his donkey, he trotted along ahead of his parents, deciding to meet them at Timnah rather than remain with them along the way. Perhaps when they actually met the girl they would become more agreeable….

  Dheer arrived as Samson neared the vineyards just outside Timnah. His conversation with Crispin had done little to encourage him. Humans were prone to failure, it seemed—even those called of the Lord, such as Samson. But the Most High knew what He was doing in all of this; for that Dheer was grateful.

  As they rounded a curve in the road, Dheer had just enough time to catch a glimpse of Shawa before that demon disappeared into a young lion. The lion, which had been lazily sunning himself on the side of the road, suddenly became enraged. Shawa goaded the animal, controlling him now, and making him jump out into the road. Shawa’s plan was to kill Samson and his parents and finish with this deliverer business once and for all.

  As the lion snarled, Samson jumped off the donkey, having just enough time to catch his balance before the lion was on him. Samson’s first thought was to look for a weapon, but before he knew it the lion had a lock on his throat. Shawa was laughing aloud, feeling the hate and fear of the animal that he was driving. He would kill Samson slowly, he had decided.

  Dheer ordered Shawa out of the lion, but, of course, Shawa ignored the angel. Then, just as at Mahaneh Dan, the Spirit of God came upon Samson. He grabbed the lion’s mouth and pulled the beast off himself. Samson felt strength coursing through his body, like a heat emerging from within and welling up through his heart, filling his whole being. Shawa, realizing what was happening, shrieked frightfully at the Lord’s Presence, as he too felt the power of God working through Samson. He quickly abandoned the confused animal in Samson’s hands. Samson killed the lion, choking it with his hands, and tossed the carcass on the side of the road.

  Dheer looked at the lion and then back at Samson, amazed at what he had just seen. But he was reminded that this was a man called of the Lord by the Lord’s own Angel. The incident only confirmed what Dheer had always believed about Samson—that he would one day avenge the people in God’s mighty power!

  He glanced at the dead lion on the side of the road. God was with Samson. Perhaps the marriage in Timnah would be alright after all!

  Chronicles of the Host

  War With the Philistines

  Unknown to both the Host and the fallen angels, it was neither devil nor angel who had placed the Philistine woman upon Samson’s heart—it was the Most High God. Seeking a provocation with the cruel and profane worshipers of Dagon, the Lord used the affection between pagan and judge to begin the deliverance of Israel.

  So it was that when Samson came down again to Timnah, he planned to marry the girl and take her back to Dan with him. But the Philistine men, jealous of the girl and wanting nothing to do with Samson, came to the wedding party to provoke Samson and keep the girl with them.

  Bethlehem, 4 B.C.

  “The riddle! The riddle!” exclaimed Jarod,
suddenly breaking into Eli’s story. “Is this where he tells them the riddle?”

  Eli grinned at the boy.

  “Yes, Jarod,” the old man said. “Samson knew that the Philistine men were only there to cause him trouble. So he told them a riddle.”

  Daniel looked up at Eli.

  “You have been speaking in riddles all night long, Eli,” he said. “Riddles are apparently not new among our people!”

  “No, Daniel,” Eli agreed. “As your attitude this evening indicates, we are a people filled with riddles.”

  Some of the shepherds laughed at this. Daniel smirked at Eli and casually tossed a small stick into the fire.

  “Riddles don’t deliver a people, boys,” said Daniel, leaning back. “Cold steel and blood are all that will throw off that yoke!”

  Jarod and Joshua glanced over at Daniel, a puzzled look on their faces. Some of the shepherd men also glanced his way. They were beginning to have enough of this man and his spiteful talk.

  “Riddles do not deliver indeed,” said Eli. “But God used a riddle that day to provoke the Philistines. Samson told the men that if they could guess the answer within the seven days of the marriage feast, he would give each of them a new cloak. Do you recall the riddle, Jarod?”

  “I do!” Joshua said excitedly. Eli indicated that he should tell it. Joshua proudly stood among the men as if he were Samson, telling the riddle to the Philistine men: “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet!”

  “Well done, Joshua!” said Eli, as the boy sat down. Joshua’s dad winked at him proudly. “And indeed the men could not understand the riddle. For several days they tried to come up with the answer. Finally, they talked Samson’s wife-to-be into getting the answer from him so they might not be taken in by this mere Danite. Do you recall the solution to the riddle?”

  “Well,” said Joshua, “when Samson had gone back home one time, he saw the body of the lion that he had killed. Some bees had made a hive in it, and he ate some honey they had made.”